Sail said its profit was hit by a surge in prices of imported coal.

Steel Authority of India Limited reported its 10th straight quarterly loss on Thursday, though the loss narrowed in the July-September quarter to Rs 539 crore,. The state-owned company had made a loss of Rs 732 crore in the same quarter in 2016.

Sail posted a loss nearly twice of what a Reuters poll of analysts had estimated. The average pre-earnings estimate was Rs 273 crore.

The company’s revenue from operations in July-September rose 8% year on year to Rs 13,617 crore.

The company said its profit was hit by a surge in prices of imported coal. To neutralise the impact of rising input costs, Sail said it is trying to ramp up its production.